"A ploy to pass budget, save Congress govt": Himachal LoP Jairam Thakur after 15 BJP MLAs suspended

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 28 (ANI): After 15 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania for allegedly creating a ruckus in the House, the Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur on Wednesday alleged that the move was part of a ploy to pass the budget and save the Congress government.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Thakur, who was among the 15 BJP MLAs to be suspended from the House, said, "The BJP had 25 MLAs in the House before some of the Congress MLAs cross-voted during polling for the Rajya Sabha seat. Our strength rose to 34 after the Rajya Sabha vote, which set off alarm bells in the government. They had to pass the budget by any means necessary or else this governmnt would fall. They knew they had to devise a ploy to reduce our strength in the House and ', hence, got some of our members, including myself, suspended in a desperate bid to save our government."
"As many as 15 of our MLAs, including myself, were suspended. The budget was passed thereafter," the LoP added.
Amid fears of a churn at the helm of Himachal following the cross-voting episode during polling for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state, 15 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for allegedly for creating a ruckus in his chamber.
The suspended MLAs were LoP Jai Ram Thakur, Vipin Parmar, Randhir Sharma, Hans Raj, Vinod Kumar, Janak Raj, Balbir Verma, Lokinder Kumar, Trilok Jamwal, Surinder Shourie, Puran Chand, Dalip Thakur, Inder Singb Gandhi, Ranbir Nikka and Deep Raj.
Earlier, cross-voting by six Congress MLAs for the lone Rajya Sabha seat and the resignation of Vikramaditya Singh from the council of ministers plunged the Sukhu-led government into a crisis in the hill state.
The back-to-back developments brought to the fore the rift within the ruling party while the BJP claimed the Congress had lost the moral standing to be in power after losing majority in the Assembly.
The BJP said the Rajya Sabha results show that the Sukhu-led Congress government has lost its majority, whereas the CM has claimed to remain in power with a majority.
LoP Jairam Thakur earlier said that the state CM should resign from his post on moral grounds.
"Congress does not have a majority and they cannot pass the budget, so they suspended 15 BJP MLAs without any reason. They will now try to pass the budget, but it will be against the rules. If he (CM Sukhu) has even a little bit of morality left, then he should resign..." he said.
He further said that the action of the Assembly Speaker, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, to suspend 15 BJP MLAs is 'condemnable'.
"We went to meet the Governor in the morning today and I said that since Congress does not have the majority to pass the budget in the Assembly, the Speaker will suspend BJP MLAs. Today, as soon as we entered the Assembly, 15 BJP MLAs were suspended and were taken out of the Assembly by the marshals. This is highly condemnable..." he said.
While Jairam Thakur claimed that Sukhu has resigned from the post, the Himachal CM said that he will fight like a warrior and will not take any steps behind.
"This government has lost all the moral rights to stay in power. As far as I have been informed, CM Sukhu has also presented his resignation inside the House. Maybe the high command has asked him, but I am not sure..." Thakur said.
Sukhu on Wednesday, however, refuted the reports of him resigning from the post, saying that he has not tendered his resignation and will prove the majority in the House.
"Neither anyone asked for my resignation nor have I presented my resignation to anyone. We will prove the majority. We will win, the people of Himachal will win... I am not someone who will get scared and I can say this with guarantee that Congress is going to win when the budget is presented. The budget will be passed today. BJP is spreading rumours of my resignation. Congress is united. I am a warrior and will fight like that," Sukhu said.
In the voting on Tuesday, the BJP, which has just 25 MLAs, managed to secure 9 additional votes. The vote thus ended in a 34-34 tie, with three Independents and six Congress MLAs cross-voting for the BJP. Mahajan ended up winning after the result was decided with a draw of lots.
Vikramaditya Singh, a state minister and the son of the former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Wednesday stepped down from his position.
"All I would like to say is that under the current circumstances, it is not correct for me to continue as a part of the government. So, I have decided that I am resigning from the Council of Ministers. I am resigning as a minister," Singh said. (ANI)